Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th is considered to be one of the unluckiest days on the calendar.
Let's look at this objectively for a second:
In order to organize time, human beings created calendars.
As part of today's dominant calendar system, every year is divided into 12 periods called months, consisting of roughly 30 days each. All days are also grouped into sets of seven, called weeks. In the Western world, a significant chunk of the population suspects bad things will happen whenever the 13th day of a month occurs on the day of the week called Friday.
Like many human beliefs, the fear of Friday the 13th (known as paraskevidekatriaphobia) isn't exactly grounded in scientific logic. But the really strange thing is that most of the people who believe the day is unlucky offer no explanation at all, logical or illogical. As with most superstitions, people fear Friday the 13th for its own sake, without any need for background information.
The superstition does have deep, compelling roots, however, and the origins help explain why the belief is so widespread today. In this article, we'll look at some of the interesting stories behind this unluckiest of days.
Friday the 13th Christian Origins
The fear of Friday the 13th stems from two separate fears -- the fear of the number 13 and the fear of Fridays. Both fears have deep roots in Western culture, most notably in Christian theology.
Thirteen is significant to Christians because it is the number of people who were present at the Last Supper (Jesus and his 12 apostles). Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th member of the party to arrive.
Christians have traditionally been wary of Fridays because Jesus was crucified on a Friday.
Additionally, some theologians hold that Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden fruit on a Friday, and that the Great Flood began on a Friday. In the past, many Christians would never begin any new project or trip on a Friday, fearing they would be doomed from the start.
Sailors were particularly superstitious in this regard, often refusing to ship out on a Friday.
According to unverified legend (very likely untrue), the British Navy commissioned a ship in the 1800s called H.M.S. Friday, in order to quell the superstition.
The navy selected the crew on a Friday, launched the ship on a Friday and even selected a man named James Friday as the ship's captain. Then, one Friday morning, the ship set off on its maiden voyage... and disappeared forever. A similar, entirely factual story is the harrowing flight of Apollo 13.
Some historians suggest the Christian distrust of Fridays is actually linked to the early Catholic Church's overall suppression of pagan religions and women.
In the Roman calendar, Friday was devoted to Venus, the goddess of love. When Norsemen adapted the calendar, they named the day after Frigg, or Freya, Norse goddesses connected to love and sex. Both of these strong female figures once posed a threat to male-dominated Christianity, the theory goes, so the Christian church vilified the day named after them.
This characterization may also have played a part in the fear of the number 13. It was said that Frigg would often join a coven of witches, normally a group of 12, bringing the total to 13.
This idea may have originated with the Christian Church itself; it's impossible to verify the exact origins of most folklore. A similar Christian legend holds that 13 is unholy because it signifies the gathering of 12 witches and the devil.
The number 13 could also have been considered pagan because there are 13 months in the pagan lunar calendar. The lunar calendar also corresponds to the human menstrual cycle, connecting the number to femininity.
Other Friday the 13th Traditions
The Christian perspective on Friday and 13 is the most relevant today, but it's only one part of the Friday the 13th tradition.
Some trace the infamy of the number 13 back to ancient Norse culture. In Norse mythology, the beloved hero Balder was killed at a banquet by the mischievous god Loki, who crashed the party of twelve, bringing the group to 13. This story, as well as the story of the Last Supper, led to one of the most entrenched 13-related beliefs: You should never sit down to a meal in a group of 13.
You may not take drastic safety precautions every Friday the 13th, but are you totally immune to the superstition? Given the choice, would you get married, start a new job or close on a house on Friday the 13th? Superstition has a way of creeping up on people when they're in a particularly vulnerable state.
Another significant piece of the legend is a particularly bad Friday the 13th that occurred in the middle ages.
On a Friday the 13th in 1306, King Philip of France arrested the revered Knights Templar and began torturing them, marking the occasion as a day of evil.
Both Friday and the number 13 were once closely associated with capital punishment.
In British tradition, Friday was the conventional day for public hangings, and there were supposedly 13 steps leading up to the noose.
Ultimately, the complex folklore of Friday the 13th doesn't have much to do with people's fears today. The fear has much more to do with personal experience.
People learn at a young age that Friday the 13th is supposed to be unlucky, for whatever reason, and then they look for evidence that the legend is true. The evidence isn't hard to come by, of course. If you get in a car wreck on one Friday the 13th, lose your wallet, or even spill your coffee, that day will probably stay with you. But if you think about it, bad things, big and small, happen all the time. If you're looking for bad luck on Friday the 13th, you'll probably find it.
In other News:
* I finally got the camera I've been pining for .. I bought myself the Nikon D3000 .. now I'm saving up to buy the SB900 Flash system and an extra lens or two...
* I want to start building up a professional Photography Portfolio.. and I'm looking for models who might be interested in doing a few shoots on a TFCD basis... so if you are willing, please let me know...
* My ex is still stalking me ... How can I get her out of my life for good? I went to court to get a restraining order .. but the magistrate told me "I should just punch her the fuck out" ... that is a direct quote... but since I will not raise my hand to woman, this is not an option.. I had my lawyer phone her and her family, I put wannabe-gangsters on her (For those who know Mike Bolhuis will understand) ... and still she carries on .. what else can I do?
* I finally will be getting my new tattoos started in January .. we'll be doing the Dragon sleeve first... followed by the white tiger sleeve, then the Spawn Backpiece, the Crusade night piece, the koi calf piece.....
Reasons I Love South Africa:
* Our natural heritage: SA is truly a world in one country .. we have the deserts in the Northern cape, the forests in the eastern cape, the tropical forest in northern natal, the savanna grassland in northern Province .. and everything in between .. as well as all the wild animals you can imagine .. the big Five is a big reason for tourism as well as shark diving next to Aliwal shoal and the cage diving around Cape Town .. with the opportunity to see Great White Sharks breach in Gans Bay...
* Our Weather ... we have nice warm summers.. easily 30 deg C and above in Summer.. and winter seldom gets below freezing point .. although this depends on where you are in the country.
* Our Sport ... Our Springboks is currently the reigning world Champions in Rugby as well as the Tri-Nations Trophy (Contested between SA, Australia and New Zealand), and my local Bulls team are the current holders of both the Super 14 and the Curry Cup trophy's .. Our Cricket is ranked number 1 in the world in both the One Day and Test Cricket arenas (Last time I checked anyways) .. we just have a habit of choking in world cups and championship series for some reason... Then there is also our swimming, netball, hockey, Martial Arts .. all doing well internationally .. and then there is the black sheep in our family.. Our Soccer...
* Speaking of Soccer.. Next year the 2010 FIFA world Cup is held on our shores and the whole country is abuzz with roadworks and building a new train system for the event... let's hope all goes off without a hitch...
* Our People ... We have some of the friendliest people in the world living here.. very outgoing and we love foreigners (and their money ) I have heard many people say that they were extremely taken with our hospitality, so don't just take my word for it...
Reasons I Hate South Africa:
* Our Crime is out of control, event hough we take every precaution in the book and then some more, our houses still get burgled, our woman gets raped, our cars disappear as if aliens abducted them...
* Our government is totally useless.. they spend millions of Rands to change the names of towns and streets (They want to remove ALL references to Apartheid .. hence the change of Church Street to IIshanxdhulhtukfnhuyrs Avenue or something in that line) instead of doing something about the crime and/or poverty in the country.
* Our Internet and telephone calls are extremely expensive.. Some places charge up to R25 per Megabyte you download ....
* Work is very scarce and has been for a while... and with the ANC regime .. if you are not black and/or female you might as well not even apply for a job...
I'm sure more things will come to me as I am writing this by the seat of my pants, and I will comment with updates...
All and all .. South Africa is my home, and I won't be leaving anytime soon .. well I might go on holiday to attend Wacken next year.. but that is a whole different story...
OK so that is enough for today I think .. I'll try to publish more blogs soon though...
Ciao for now.
Friday the 13th is considered to be one of the unluckiest days on the calendar.
Let's look at this objectively for a second:
In order to organize time, human beings created calendars.
As part of today's dominant calendar system, every year is divided into 12 periods called months, consisting of roughly 30 days each. All days are also grouped into sets of seven, called weeks. In the Western world, a significant chunk of the population suspects bad things will happen whenever the 13th day of a month occurs on the day of the week called Friday.
Like many human beliefs, the fear of Friday the 13th (known as paraskevidekatriaphobia) isn't exactly grounded in scientific logic. But the really strange thing is that most of the people who believe the day is unlucky offer no explanation at all, logical or illogical. As with most superstitions, people fear Friday the 13th for its own sake, without any need for background information.
The superstition does have deep, compelling roots, however, and the origins help explain why the belief is so widespread today. In this article, we'll look at some of the interesting stories behind this unluckiest of days.
Friday the 13th Christian Origins
The fear of Friday the 13th stems from two separate fears -- the fear of the number 13 and the fear of Fridays. Both fears have deep roots in Western culture, most notably in Christian theology.
Thirteen is significant to Christians because it is the number of people who were present at the Last Supper (Jesus and his 12 apostles). Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th member of the party to arrive.
Christians have traditionally been wary of Fridays because Jesus was crucified on a Friday.
Additionally, some theologians hold that Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden fruit on a Friday, and that the Great Flood began on a Friday. In the past, many Christians would never begin any new project or trip on a Friday, fearing they would be doomed from the start.
Sailors were particularly superstitious in this regard, often refusing to ship out on a Friday.
According to unverified legend (very likely untrue), the British Navy commissioned a ship in the 1800s called H.M.S. Friday, in order to quell the superstition.
The navy selected the crew on a Friday, launched the ship on a Friday and even selected a man named James Friday as the ship's captain. Then, one Friday morning, the ship set off on its maiden voyage... and disappeared forever. A similar, entirely factual story is the harrowing flight of Apollo 13.
Some historians suggest the Christian distrust of Fridays is actually linked to the early Catholic Church's overall suppression of pagan religions and women.
In the Roman calendar, Friday was devoted to Venus, the goddess of love. When Norsemen adapted the calendar, they named the day after Frigg, or Freya, Norse goddesses connected to love and sex. Both of these strong female figures once posed a threat to male-dominated Christianity, the theory goes, so the Christian church vilified the day named after them.
This characterization may also have played a part in the fear of the number 13. It was said that Frigg would often join a coven of witches, normally a group of 12, bringing the total to 13.
This idea may have originated with the Christian Church itself; it's impossible to verify the exact origins of most folklore. A similar Christian legend holds that 13 is unholy because it signifies the gathering of 12 witches and the devil.
The number 13 could also have been considered pagan because there are 13 months in the pagan lunar calendar. The lunar calendar also corresponds to the human menstrual cycle, connecting the number to femininity.
Other Friday the 13th Traditions
The Christian perspective on Friday and 13 is the most relevant today, but it's only one part of the Friday the 13th tradition.
Some trace the infamy of the number 13 back to ancient Norse culture. In Norse mythology, the beloved hero Balder was killed at a banquet by the mischievous god Loki, who crashed the party of twelve, bringing the group to 13. This story, as well as the story of the Last Supper, led to one of the most entrenched 13-related beliefs: You should never sit down to a meal in a group of 13.
You may not take drastic safety precautions every Friday the 13th, but are you totally immune to the superstition? Given the choice, would you get married, start a new job or close on a house on Friday the 13th? Superstition has a way of creeping up on people when they're in a particularly vulnerable state.
Another significant piece of the legend is a particularly bad Friday the 13th that occurred in the middle ages.
On a Friday the 13th in 1306, King Philip of France arrested the revered Knights Templar and began torturing them, marking the occasion as a day of evil.
Both Friday and the number 13 were once closely associated with capital punishment.
In British tradition, Friday was the conventional day for public hangings, and there were supposedly 13 steps leading up to the noose.
Ultimately, the complex folklore of Friday the 13th doesn't have much to do with people's fears today. The fear has much more to do with personal experience.
People learn at a young age that Friday the 13th is supposed to be unlucky, for whatever reason, and then they look for evidence that the legend is true. The evidence isn't hard to come by, of course. If you get in a car wreck on one Friday the 13th, lose your wallet, or even spill your coffee, that day will probably stay with you. But if you think about it, bad things, big and small, happen all the time. If you're looking for bad luck on Friday the 13th, you'll probably find it.
In other News:
* I finally got the camera I've been pining for .. I bought myself the Nikon D3000 .. now I'm saving up to buy the SB900 Flash system and an extra lens or two...
* I want to start building up a professional Photography Portfolio.. and I'm looking for models who might be interested in doing a few shoots on a TFCD basis... so if you are willing, please let me know...
* My ex is still stalking me ... How can I get her out of my life for good? I went to court to get a restraining order .. but the magistrate told me "I should just punch her the fuck out" ... that is a direct quote... but since I will not raise my hand to woman, this is not an option.. I had my lawyer phone her and her family, I put wannabe-gangsters on her (For those who know Mike Bolhuis will understand) ... and still she carries on .. what else can I do?
* I finally will be getting my new tattoos started in January .. we'll be doing the Dragon sleeve first... followed by the white tiger sleeve, then the Spawn Backpiece, the Crusade night piece, the koi calf piece.....
Reasons I Love South Africa:
* Our natural heritage: SA is truly a world in one country .. we have the deserts in the Northern cape, the forests in the eastern cape, the tropical forest in northern natal, the savanna grassland in northern Province .. and everything in between .. as well as all the wild animals you can imagine .. the big Five is a big reason for tourism as well as shark diving next to Aliwal shoal and the cage diving around Cape Town .. with the opportunity to see Great White Sharks breach in Gans Bay...
* Our Weather ... we have nice warm summers.. easily 30 deg C and above in Summer.. and winter seldom gets below freezing point .. although this depends on where you are in the country.
* Our Sport ... Our Springboks is currently the reigning world Champions in Rugby as well as the Tri-Nations Trophy (Contested between SA, Australia and New Zealand), and my local Bulls team are the current holders of both the Super 14 and the Curry Cup trophy's .. Our Cricket is ranked number 1 in the world in both the One Day and Test Cricket arenas (Last time I checked anyways) .. we just have a habit of choking in world cups and championship series for some reason... Then there is also our swimming, netball, hockey, Martial Arts .. all doing well internationally .. and then there is the black sheep in our family.. Our Soccer...
* Speaking of Soccer.. Next year the 2010 FIFA world Cup is held on our shores and the whole country is abuzz with roadworks and building a new train system for the event... let's hope all goes off without a hitch...
* Our People ... We have some of the friendliest people in the world living here.. very outgoing and we love foreigners (and their money ) I have heard many people say that they were extremely taken with our hospitality, so don't just take my word for it...
Reasons I Hate South Africa:
* Our Crime is out of control, event hough we take every precaution in the book and then some more, our houses still get burgled, our woman gets raped, our cars disappear as if aliens abducted them...
* Our government is totally useless.. they spend millions of Rands to change the names of towns and streets (They want to remove ALL references to Apartheid .. hence the change of Church Street to IIshanxdhulhtukfnhuyrs Avenue or something in that line) instead of doing something about the crime and/or poverty in the country.
* Our Internet and telephone calls are extremely expensive.. Some places charge up to R25 per Megabyte you download ....
* Work is very scarce and has been for a while... and with the ANC regime .. if you are not black and/or female you might as well not even apply for a job...
I'm sure more things will come to me as I am writing this by the seat of my pants, and I will comment with updates...
All and all .. South Africa is my home, and I won't be leaving anytime soon .. well I might go on holiday to attend Wacken next year.. but that is a whole different story...
OK so that is enough for today I think .. I'll try to publish more blogs soon though...
Ciao for now.
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